Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) Stock Price Down 4.8% – Should You Sell?

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares were down 4.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $156.55 and last traded at $157.85. Approximately 6,409,392 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average daily volume of 9,100,680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $181.00 price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.33.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Down 6.1 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.07. The stock has a market cap of $375.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.44 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 34.24% and a net margin of 18.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Johnson & Johnson

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 5.9% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 204,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,846,000 after acquiring an additional 11,386 shares during the period. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at $154,000. Nestegg Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $251,000. Finally, Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter worth $883,000. Institutional investors own 69.55% of the company’s stock.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.